UAA and UAF hockey wrap up the Alaska Airlines Governor’s Cup

Corey Renwick challenges a UAF player at Governor’s Cup. Photo by Skip Hickey.

The UAA hockey team spent the first weekend of March competing in the Alaska Airlines Governor’s Cup at the Sullivan Arena. They played two back-to-back games against UAF on Friday and Saturday, resulting in two losses. The losses extended their conference record to 2-23 and their overall record to 3-28. They still sit at No. 10 in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association, out of the total ten teams included. The recent games marked the second weekend of the Governor’s Cup. The first games were played in early February in Fairbanks, resulting in one win (4-1) and one loss (1-2) for the Seawolves. In a much more dire outcome for UAA, the recent games started with a 0-4 loss and finished off with a 1-2 loss. Head coach Matt Curley described their mindset for these games to be team-focused. “At the end of the day, as much time as it takes to focus on what they do and trying to game plan for what they may bring to the table, it’s more important to focus on executing what we need to do and that is where we have put a lot of our focus on,” Curley said. UAF started off strong in the first game with 12 shot attempts, with one success at 14:40 in the first period made by Max Newton. While the Seawolves tried to keep up, they made only six attempts with no success. As the game progressed, the Nanooks attempted less but made more goals. At 8:46 in the second period, UAF’s Steven Jandric made the second goal of the night for the Nanooks. UAF attempted nine shots in the second period, while the Seawolves attempted eight. The Nanooks finished the game up strong with two goals in the third period. Ryker Leer made the first goal at 3:29, while Jandric followed through to finish off at 14:06. Kristian Stead was goaltending for the Seawolves, making 23 saves. In contrast, the Seawolves started off in a better position on Saturday. They were able to make the first goal of the game. At 2:13 in the second period, Corey Renwick was assisted by Drake Glover and Camine Buono to get the Seawolves’ only point for the game.In a turn of events, the Nanooks not only tied up the game in the third period but surpassed UAA to take the win. UAF’s Tyler Cline and Kylar Hope each made a goal in the third period. Stead was goaltending again for the Seawolves with 22 saves. Despite the losses, Curley still appreciated what it meant to play in the Governor’s Cup and was grateful for the opportunity. “You have these classic, historic rivalries and I think that Fairbanks and Anchorage is a big one,” Curley said. “I am not oblivious to what it means, and I certainly appreciate what it meant to have this rivalry.” With the end of the Governor’s Cup, the Seawolves have officially concluded their 2018-19 season.